You just told him about kissing Blaze, so you have no right to be angry. Her aunt’s voice was back in her head.

She clamped her mouth shut and counted to ten. It didn’t work.

She tried it again, and had cooled down enough to point out the window and change the subject. “Look at those wire reindeer. I want some of those. Where can you buy them? Oh, look, there’s a horse pulling a carriage made out of that stuff, too. They are open and airy, so they’d look good in among all the wood things.”

“You can buy those things at Hobby Lobby or sometimes at Big Lots or in the Walmart garden center,” he said. “I thought we’d start at Hobby Lobby looking for a tree since you decided on an artificial one, so you can check there first.”

“I want a real one,” she said, “but Uncle Haskell reminded me that they dry out even between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and they’d never stay fresh for as long as I intend to have it up and decorated. Do you think they’ll have one that doesn’t look perfect? I want it to look real even if it’s not.”

“They’ll have dozens. We can always lop off a limb or two to make it look real,” he teased.

She slapped him playfully on the shoulder. “Don’t tease me. This is important.”

“Why is it so important to you, Liz?” he asked. “I love Christmas, but you go beyond that.”

She hesitated for a moment and then decided to be truthful. “Mama asked me every year what I wanted for Christmas, and I told her that I wanted a house without wheels. When I was a teenager, I added one more thing to my list and that was a sexy cowboy. So, this year I’ve got my house with no wheels and I want it to be special.”

“And the cowboy?” Raylen turned to face her.

She met his gaze and didn’t blink. “The jury is still out on that one, and besides, it’s not Christmas until December 25th. I might have a cowboy by then.”

“After Thanksgiving, Santa Claus will be at the mall. You might have to sit on his lap and ask for a cowboy,” Raylen joked.

“Been doin’ that every year since I was four. Uncle Haskell says it takes a long time to make a house with no wheels and a cowboy. They aren’t like Barbie dolls or skateboards. Oh, look at those.” She pointed while they were stopped at a red light in Henrietta. She motioned out the side window to a display of wooden picnic benches, chairs, and swings. “I want a swing in my yard like that so I can string lights around it at Christmas.”

Raylen pulled into the driveway and braked.

“What are you doing?” Liz asked.

“Let’s look at them,” he said. “Can’t get one tonight because we’ll have your tree and your wire reindeer in the truck so we won’t have room, but we can find out if he’s here all the time or if he’s ever over in Bowie.” He was out of the truck and had her door open before she could blink.